Saddam Hussein Should Have Been Left To Run Iraq?
Both President Obama and President-elect Donald Trump believe the
United States never should have invaded Iraq in 2003.
The war in Iraq and its chaotic aftermath in many ways prefigure
the present moment in the Middle East; it triggered a sectarian
unraveling that now haunts both Iraq and Syria and looms large in the
minds of an Obama administration wary of further intervention in the
region's conflicts.In a new book coming out this month, John Nixon, a former CIA officer who
interrogated Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein after he was captured by
coalition forces in December 2003, details his encounter with the
toppled despot and the varied discussions that followed.
Early on, Hussein warned that the occupation of Iraq wouldn't be as much of a "cakewalk" as Washington's neoconservatives assumed at the time.
Early on, Hussein warned that the occupation of Iraq wouldn't be as much of a "cakewalk" as Washington's neoconservatives assumed at the time.
Nixon now reckons Hussein had a point and that a ruthless strongman like him was necessary to "maintain Iraq's multi-ethnic state" and keep both Sunni extremism and the power of Shiite-led Iran, a Hussein foe, at bay.When I interrogated Saddam, he told me: “You are going to fail. You are going to find that it is not so easy to govern Iraq.” When I told him I was curious why he felt that way, he replied: “You are going to fail in Iraq because you do not know the language, the history, and you do not understand the Arab mind.”
"Saddam’s leadership style and penchant for brutality were among the many faults of his regime, but he could be ruthlessly decisive when he felt his power base was threatened, and it is far from certain that his regime would have been overthrown by a movement of popular discontent," he wrote.
"Likewise, it is improbable that a group like ISIS would have
been able to enjoy the kind of success under his repressive regime that
they have had under the Shia-led Baghdad government." (ISIS is another
name for the Islamic State.)
This may all be rather true. Trump himself insists that regime change should no longer be in Washington's interest and has embraced dictatorial leaders such as Egypt's President Abdel Fatah al-Sissi.
"Although I found Saddam to be thoroughly unlikeable, I came away with a grudging respect for how he was able to maintain the Iraqi nation as a whole for as long as he did," wrote Nixon.
"He told me once, 'Before me, there was only bickering and arguing. I ended all that and made people agree!'"
Many Arab commentators, though, reject the simplicity of the assumptions here — that if not ruled by tyrants, their nations would automatically turn into breeding grounds for militancy.
That's a logic, after all, that serves the autocrats. Moreover, there's a direct connection between the heavy-handed policies of the region's autocrats and the conditions that spawn extremism and deepen sectarian animosities.
Pluralistic, multi-ethnic societies have been the norm, not the exception, for centuries.
This may all be rather true. Trump himself insists that regime change should no longer be in Washington's interest and has embraced dictatorial leaders such as Egypt's President Abdel Fatah al-Sissi.
"Although I found Saddam to be thoroughly unlikeable, I came away with a grudging respect for how he was able to maintain the Iraqi nation as a whole for as long as he did," wrote Nixon.
"He told me once, 'Before me, there was only bickering and arguing. I ended all that and made people agree!'"
Many Arab commentators, though, reject the simplicity of the assumptions here — that if not ruled by tyrants, their nations would automatically turn into breeding grounds for militancy.
That's a logic, after all, that serves the autocrats. Moreover, there's a direct connection between the heavy-handed policies of the region's autocrats and the conditions that spawn extremism and deepen sectarian animosities.
Pluralistic, multi-ethnic societies have been the norm, not the exception, for centuries.
Source: Washington Post, Agency
Shooter Kills Around 20 In Orlando Florida Gay Nightclub
Around 20 people have died, including the assailant, and at least 42 injured in an attack inside a gay nightclub in Orlando, in the US state of Florida, according to police.
Officials said on Sunday morning that the shooter, who was armed with assault-type rifle, handgun and some type of other device, died in a shootout with the police force.
The injured had been transferred to nearby hospitals, police said, adding that the exact number of dead and injured people inside the Pulse nightclub could not be confirmed.
"Unfortunately there are people who died from gunshot wounds, maybe around 20, inside the night club," Ron Harper, an FBI special agent, said, adding that one officer was injured.
- John Mina, Orlando police chief, said: "This did turn into a hostage situation. At approximately 05:00 hours (09:00 GMT) this morning, the decision was made to rescue hostages that were in there."
In a statement, the White House press office said US President Barack Obama was briefed of the incident by Lisa Monaco(photo), top advisor for Homeland Security and Counter terrorism.
Florida authorities said the attack was being treated as an "act of domestic or international terrorism".
Source: Al Jazeera ...More...
MILLIONS STRUGGLED TO RECOVER FROM DEADLY STORMS,TORNADOES AND FLOODS IN USA
Millions of residents in the southern United States
struggled on Saturday (Dec 26) to recover from the deadly storms,Tornadoes and floods
that struck the region over the past days.
Feeding on unseasonably warm air, storms left a trail of
destruction in rural communities from Alabama to Illinois. More than a dozen
tornadoes were reported on Friday in six southern states.
At least 17 people have been killed in the states of Mississippi, Tennessee and Arkansas since Thursday, officials said.
With
more severe weather expected across the central United States,
forecasters are warning of airport delays and flooded roads as travelers return home after the Christmas holiday.
Feeding on unseasonably warm air, storms left a trail of destruction in rural communities from Alabama to Illinois.
- More than a dozen tornadoes were reported Friday in six southern states.
- In Alabama, where Governor Robert Bentley had declared a state of emergency to deal with the heavy flooding, tornadoes uprooted trees and tore off rooftops, with one touching down in Birmingham, the state’s most populous city.
- Families across the US South have spent Christmas Eve taking stock of their losses after an unusual outbreak of December tornadoes and other violent weather killed at least 14 people and damaged or destroyed dozens of homes.
Source: AFP, Agency
3 KILLED, 9 INJURED IN ATTACK ON COLORADO ABORTION CLINIC
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. U.S.A. - A gunman stormed a Planned Parenthood abortion clinic in Colorado Springs on Friday and opened fire with a rifle in an attack that left three people dead and nine others injured, authorities said.
The dead included one police officer and two civilians, Colorado Springs Police Chief Peter Carey told reporters about an hour after the suspect had been captured.
The suspect first engaged in a gun battle with police but ultimately surrendered to officers inside the building about five hours after the start of the violence which played out under a steady snowfall in Colorado's second-largest city.armored police vehicle and placed
in an unmarked squad car.
Source: Reuters, The Star...More...
FIRST CHILD DOUBLE HAND TRANSPLANT ANNOUNCED IN USA
NEW YORK - An eight-year-old American has become the
world’s youngest recipient of a transplant of both hands, Children’s Hospital
of Philadelphia announced Tuesday.
It took a team of 40 doctors, nurses and other staff from
plastic and reconstructive surgery, orthopedic surgery, anesthesiology and
radiology, to pull off the pioneering surgery.
Surgeons first painstakingly attached bone, then veins. Once
the blood was circulating, surgeons connected tendons, muscles and nerves.
- “Zion’s kidney transplant following his infection made him a candidate for transplant because he was already taking anti-rejection medication,” said Benjamin Chang, co-director of CHOP’s Hand Transplantation Program.
- Surgeons operated for 10 hours to carry out the incredibly complicated surgery on Baltimore native Zion Harvey.
- He previously had both his hands and feet amputated and had a kidney transplant following a major infection.
Harvey is receiving daily anti-rejection medications.
Doctors said he should be able to return home to Baltimore in a few weeks.
The smiling, precocious youngster had learned to eat, write
and even play video games without hands.
Now he says he is looking forward to being able to throw a
football with his own hands.
Source: AFP
A WOMAN PLEADS GUILTY TO KILLING HER ALLEGED DEMONIC CHILDREN IN MICHIGAN USA
DETROIT, Michigan, U.S.A. — A Detroit woman pleaded guilty
Monday to killing two of her children and storing their bodies in a home
freezer, telling a judge that she had no remorse for beating and suffocating
them.
Mitchelle Blair, 36, has never challenged allegations that
she killed her 13-year-old daughter and 9-year-old son.
She pleaded guilty to
first-degree murder without any deal with prosecutors an extraordinary move
and said she would have accepted the death penalty if Michigan had it.
"I don't regret none of this," Blair told the judge Monday, reported the Associated Press. "I don't feel no remorse for the death of those demons", She said.
She pleaded guilty to
first-degree murder without any deal with prosecutors an extraordinary move
and said she would have accepted the death penalty if Michigan had it."I don't regret none of this," Blair told the judge Monday, reported the Associated Press. "I don't feel no remorse for the death of those demons", She said.
- She was arrested in March, after deputies carrying out an eviction at her Detroit apartment found the bodies of her children in a deep freezer. She said she attacked the children months apart in 2012 and 2013.
- Blair said she intended to kill her daughter, Stoni Blair, but didn’t know the abuse of her son, Stephen Berry, would be fatal.
Blair
alleged the children had sexually abused a sibling, though she said she didn’t
witness the alleged assaults and didn’t get police involved because she feared
she would lose her other children.
Mental health experts had found Blair competent to face
charges. She faces life in prison with no
chance for parole.
chance for parole.
Source: NBC news
US NEBRASKA ABOLISHES DEATH PENALTY IN LANDMARK OVERRIDE VOTE
LINCOLN, Nebraska: Nebraska abolished the death penalty on
Wednesday over the governor’s objections in a move pushed through the
Legislature with unusual backing from conservatives who oppose capital
punishment for religious, financial and practical reasons.
Senators in the one-house Legislature voted 30-19 to
override the veto of Gov. Pete Ricketts, a Republican who supports the death
penalty. The vote makes Nebraska the first traditionally conservative state to
eliminate the punishment since North Dakota in 1973.
override the veto of Gov. Pete Ricketts, a Republican who supports the death
penalty. The vote makes Nebraska the first traditionally conservative state to
eliminate the punishment since North Dakota in 1973.
The override vote — passed by the narrowest possible margin
— drew a burst of applause from death penalty opponents in the gallery above
the legislative chamber.
Nebraska joins 18 other states 
and the District of Columbia
in banning the ultimate punishment. Shortly after the vote, Ricketts issued a
statement condemning the Legislature.
and the District of Columbia
in banning the ultimate punishment. Shortly after the vote, Ricketts issued a
statement condemning the Legislature.
“My words cannot express how appalled I am that we have lost
a critical tool to protect law enforcement and Nebraska families,” Ricketts
said in a statement.
“While the Legislature has lost touch with the citizens of
Nebraska, I will continue to stand with Nebraskans and law enforcement on this important issue.”
“While the Legislature has lost touch with the citizens of
Nebraska, I will continue to stand with Nebraskans and law enforcement on this important issue.”
Nebraska’s action to repeal the death penalty is unusual
because of its traditionally conservative leanings.
- Maryland was the last state to end capital punishment, in 2013.
- Three other moderate-to-liberal states have done so in recent years: New Mexico in 2009, Illinois in 2011 and Connecticut in 2012.
Nebraska lost its ability to execute inmates in December
2013, when one of the three lethal injection drugs required by state law
expired.
Many senators were swayed by the fact that state officials have repeatedly failed to administer the punishment, calling the death penalty a poorly managed and inefficient government program.
Many senators were swayed by the fact that state officials have repeatedly failed to administer the punishment, calling the death penalty a poorly managed and inefficient government program.
Source: Agency
A NEBRASKA WOMAN IS SUING ALL GAY PEOPLE ON GOD’S BEHALF?
The town of Auburn, Nebraska,USA; population 3,385, is poised to
become a footnote to US legal history after one of its residents filed a
lawsuit against all the world’s gay people and asked a federal judge to rule
that homosexuality is a sin. 
In a seven-page, handwritten filing, Sylvia Driskell claimed
to be an ambassador of God and said she was disappointed that Nebraska had
become “compliant in the lewd behaviour of some people”.
“Homosexuality is a sin and... homosexuals know it is a sin
to live a life of homosexuality. Why else would they have been hiding in the
closet,” she wrote, 
according to the Omaha World-Herald newspaper.
according to the Omaha World-Herald newspaper.
Ms Driskell, who quotes the bible in her suit, could not be
contacted on Wednesday. An official at the US District Court told The
Independent that the case had been assigned to Judge John Gerrard. It would be
up to him to decide how or whether to proceed with the case.
Ms Driskell finished her suit by stating: “It is because of the lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassion fails not.”
- “The woman does not have an attorney and she has not asked
for an attorney,” said the official, who asked not to be named.
Ms Driskell finished her suit by stating: “It is because of the lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassion fails not.”
Source: independent.co.uk
THE POLICE KILLED ANOTHER BLACK MAN IN AMERICA
Shooting of unarmed blacks seemingly became a routine
tradition in USA. USA Today reporting, nearly two times a week in the United
States, a white police officer killed a black person during a seven-year period
ending in 2012.On average, there were 96 such incidents among at least 400 police killings each year that were reported to the FBI by local police.
The reports show that 18% of the blacks killed during those seven years were under age 21, compared to 8.7% of whites.
Last year, the deaths of unarmed black men in Ferguson,
Missouri, and in New York City at the hands of police triggered a wave of
nationwide demonstrations over excessive use of force by law enforcement.
Last Saturday, demonstrators marched on to protest the
police killing of a 19-year-old black man in Madison, Wisconsin, a shooting
that came amid growing scrutiny of law enforcement’s use of lethal force
against minorities, the poor and mentally ill.
Chanting “the whole damn system is guilty as hell,” hundreds
of protesters walked peacefully from police headquarters in the state capital
to the neighbourhood where the apparently unarmed victim was shot by police on
Friday evening.
They carried a banner reading “Black Lives Matter” that stretched the width of the street and signs that read “Justice 4 Tony” and “5 Shots 5 Times Unacceptable.”
The shooting occurred after a police officer responded to
calls reporting a man was dodging cars in traffic and had battered another
person, Madison Police Chief Mike Koval said.
The officer followed the suspect into an apartment, was struck in the head and shot the teen, who died later at a hospital, Koval said.
An initial search turned up no gun, but it was too soon to know if the victim, identified as Tony Robinson Jr., had a weapon, he said.
Chanting “the whole damn system is guilty as hell,” hundreds
of protesters walked peacefully from police headquarters in the state capital
to the neighbourhood where the apparently unarmed victim was shot by police on
Friday evening.They carried a banner reading “Black Lives Matter” that stretched the width of the street and signs that read “Justice 4 Tony” and “5 Shots 5 Times Unacceptable.”
The shooting occurred after a police officer responded to
calls reporting a man was dodging cars in traffic and had battered another
person, Madison Police Chief Mike Koval said.The officer followed the suspect into an apartment, was struck in the head and shot the teen, who died later at a hospital, Koval said.
An initial search turned up no gun, but it was too soon to know if the victim, identified as Tony Robinson Jr., had a weapon, he said.
Source:–USA Today, Reuters, Agencies
TOWERING INFERNO RAGES LOS ANGELES BUILDING
Officials say a huge fire in downtown Los Angeles in a
residential tower under construction has closed down portions of two
major highways.
Los Angeles fire department said more than 250 firefighters were battling the blaze on Monday.
David Ortiz, a fire department spokesman, said the blaze had affected thousands of people in the city.
"It is under control, but it did cause extensive damage to two buildings," he said.
The fire was in a building planned to be a tall residential structure, Ortiz said, adding that he did not think anyone was living or working there.
He said the cause and extent of the fire were not yet known. There were no immediate reports of injuries.
The city's 101 freeway was closed in both directions, while the
California Highway Patrol said transition lanes between the 110 and
101
freeways were shut down.
Source: Agency
US CELEBRITIES CALLED FOR BLACK FRIDAY BOYCOTT?
LOS ANGELES: US celebrities called for a boycott to take
place Friday — one of the busiest US shopping days — to protest a grand jury’s
decision not to prosecute a police officer who fatally shot a black teen.
A number of well-known figures, among them hip-hop mogul
Russell Simmons, have signed onto the action, under the Twitter hashtags #NotOneDime
and #BlackoutBlackFriday.
“We have the power to change our nation.
Stand up with
@UnitedBlackout on #BlackoutBlackFriday,” tweeted one of the supporters,
actress Kat Graham, who stars in TV series “The Vampire Diaries.”
Stand up with
@UnitedBlackout on #BlackoutBlackFriday,” tweeted one of the supporters,
actress Kat Graham, who stars in TV series “The Vampire Diaries.”
Also backing the campaign were TV star Jesse Williams and
celebrated journalist Soledad O’Brien, among others.
“No Just, No Profit. Corporate/public power only speaks $.
So let’s talk to ‘em,” Williams tweeted, along with a link to a video compilation
of police brutality.
Black Friday is a day of deep commercial discounts and
frenzied shopping which takes place each year after the Thursday Thanksgiving
holiday in the United States.
The planned campaign calls for a one-day moratorium on
spending to protest what it calls “staggering” human rights violations in the
United States, including police brutality.
The boycott was prompted by widespread outrage after a grand
jury on Monday failed to indict a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri
who shot and killed black 18-year-old Michael Brown in August. Protests erupted across the US after the decision.
America’s 43 million black citizens will hold about $1.1
trillion in purchasing power by 2015, a Nielsen study said.
Source: AFP
12 YEAR BOY CARRYING TOY GUN SHOOT BY POLICE?
CLEVELAND, U.S.A.- Cleveland police shot and killed a 12-year-old boy who was allegedly carrying an “airsoft” toy gun at a recreation center, police said.
Tamir Rice, who was shot in the torso and went into surgery Saturday, died Sunday morning, police said. Two officers were placed on administrative leave.
Police said the officers were responding to a report of a person waving a gun around at a playground at the Cudell Recreation Center about 3:30 p.m. Saturday.
Tamir was shot after he allegedly refused to put his hands up and reached in his waistband for what appeared to be a handgun, police said.
The handgun turned out to be an “airsoft” replica toy gun, which shoots pellets in a similar way that a BB gun does.
Cleveland police said in a statement that an orange marking designed to make the toys distinguishable from real firearms had been removed.
A man who called 911 told dispatchers before police arrived that the boy was on a swing set and pointing a pistol that was “probably fake” and scaring everyone.
“I don’t know if it’s real or not,” the caller said. Jeff Follmer, president of the Cleveland Police Patrolmen’s Association, told The Assciated Press that the officers weren’t told the caller thought the gun might be fake.
The Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office and police are investigating the shooting.
The Cuyahoga County medical examiner released Tamir’s name Sunday.
An attorney for the family, Timothy Kucharski, said he didn’t know the details of what led to the shooting, saying he would be conducting a parallel investigation.
Source: Agencies
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